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editorial

Many of the jobs we do for Friends of NAC Orchestra are rather solitary... like picking up young musicians at the airport, or ones done in small teams, like stuffing envelopes. We’re all eager to do anything to help, but it is gratifying when we can all get together and have a good time. And we’ve had a couple of bang-up occasions since our last Con Brio.

The first one was in June when NAC Orchestra held their annual volunteers’ evening where the Music Department thank all the volunteers for their work and single out the many who have been outstanding in their service to the Orchestra. It was one of the summer’s warmest evenings but everything was festive under the big white tent on the roof terrace. The volunteers mingled with the fresh-faced young musicians of the 13th annual Young Artists Program, ate the hors d’oeuvres before the speeches and the splendid supper after and sang along with Duain Wolfe, the choir master for the Ottawa Choral Society, the Cantata Singers of Ottawa and the Ewashko Singers who took part in the evening’s rehearsal. Not all of us learned how to follow his lead, but it was great fun as we tried.

The high point of the evening was the rehearsal for the following two nights’ performances and the fact that we were privileged to sit in on that rendition of Malcolm Forsyth’s “Ballad of Canada”. The momentous choral-orchestral composition arranged between the Orchestra and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra was designed to be a celebration of Mr. Forsyth’s 75th birthday but this was a bittersweet moment. Mr. Forsyth managed to be there in the orchestra seats despite his advanced cancer, overseeing the Orchestra’s interpretation and

watching Amanda play his beautiful music. We, who sat in the mezzanine seats, were tremendously moved by the musical interpretation of the poems of the four Canadian poets who marked significant points in our history, but our hearts were with that father-daughter pair. We felt like family.

Mr. Forsyth died less than a month later – before that birthday – and the Globe and Mail in their full page obituary quoted his philosophy in his own words: “I am dedicated to the idea of concert music that sweeps people away. Everything I’ve done is with that experience in mind – changing the space the audience is in for those brief moments.” Indeed he did.

The second time we got together as a group – there were more than one hundred there – was our Annual General Meeting on September 18 in the Panorama Room. We all look forward to that brunch where we can meet and greet each other and have an opportunity to listen to the young artist who has been helped by the bursary we provide each year. This year it was another stellar occasion as you can see from the photographs taken by Lois Siegel. (Lois is featured as our “extraordinary volunteer” in this Con Brio issue.)

We said good-bye to some members who were leaving the Board and met new members. President Jean-Guy Dumoulin thanked us all for our year’s participation in the events of the Orchestra and we were treated to an elegant brunch. One of the high points of the brunch every year is the fact that our Orchestra musicians join us after the Annual

Editor: Jean Seasons conbrio@friendsofnaco.caAssociate Editor: Lise Bazinet

Con Brio

in this issue

Editorial ........................... 1

Lois Siegel – An extraordinary volunteer .... 2

From the President, Jean-Guy Dumoulin ......... 2

Romantic sensibility ......... 3

Mark your calendars ......... 3

NEWSLETTER OF FRIENDS OF THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ORCHESTRA FALL 2011

continued on page 2

One thing about having our annual general meeting in September; it’s both an ending and a beginning to a new year full of promise. It’s funny how we never get over that “back to school” feeling and a fresh start. One bit of news that makes us feel proud: our own Ottawa-based Erica

Zheng is the recipient of our first Friends award for the outstanding wind player in Music Fest Canada held in Richmond, B.C. in May. And, of course, we had the pleasure of hearing Christian Paquette play his flute at the AGM brunch. We can go into this new year with the feeling that we are indeed doing “good things” for youth and music.

FROM THE PRESIDENT, Jean-Guy Dumoulin

Left: Christopher Karouenko, Christian Paquette, Lara Deutsch. Photo by Lois Siegel

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General Meeting and we have this grand opportunity to get to know each other.

The short concert by our 2011 Friends of NAC Orchestra bursary ($3,000) winner, Christian Paquette, was quite wonderful. He played his flute beautifully, more than ably assisted by pianist Christopher Karouenko and fellow flutist, Lara Deutsch, who was sponsored by us for the Summer Music Institute. Christian is a student at the University of Ottawa in the studio class of Camille Churchfield, working toward his Bachelor in Music Performance.

Another social event we have included in this issue is the “Music to Dine For” dinner at the German Embassy last season. These are wonderful music-themed dinners for 10 to 16 guests, hosted by ambassadors and high commissioners to Canada and our Chief Justice. They are fund-raisers for music education activities of the Orchestra, our Summer Music Institute scholarships, our annual bursary; they are also our chance to meet diplomatic and official Ottawa. Be sure to sign up when the list for 2012 comes out.

editorialcontinued from page 1

LOIS SIEGEL – An Extraordinary volunteer

Con Brio readers have become accustomed – and look forward to – the excellent pictures of themselves they see in our newsletter. We have seen Lois Siegel, the small woman with the big camera, as she moves unobtrusively among us recording our events, but we don’t know what a towering personality she is. Recently we had a chat with her and were bowled over by her many accomplishments.

She came to Ottawa from Montreal in 1992 when her husband obtained a job in the high tech sector in Ottawa. She retired early from George Abbott College where she had taught a profusion of subjects in film production as well as English. She had barely hit Ottawa when she was employed by the University of Ottawa to teach video production and by 2002 was named one of the Capital City’s Top 50 – people who are shaping the future of this city. She is very active in the music field as well as photography and has recently become an agent for musicians. And she never stops. To list everything she does would be too much for the space we have here, but we do want to explore one facet of those interests: her music.

She learned to play the violin in 1997. She joined many musical organizations but two bands here in the city now take her attention and time: the Lyon St. Celtic Band (six members) (see photograph of Lyon Street Celtic Band where Lois is holding the bodhran) and the Celtic North (three members). They play many prestigious gigs and Lois is right in there playing everything from the fiddle to percussion.

Here is her account of how she learned to play some of her repertoire:

“In 2009 Coro Vivo (a mixed choir) put on a special benefit concert of Celtic

music for CHEO. I told them I could play the bodhram, spoons and ugly stick (a Newfoundland noisemaker composed of an old-style broomstick with a face and bottle caps – usually featured in pubs). They also needed a snare drummer. I went out and bought a drum and stand, then e-mailed “Sons of Scotland Pipe Band” to ask for lessons. I went to their next practice session, had a Scottish vest made and I was in business. It was a terrific experience!”

Lois started volunteering for “NACOA” as we were called then, in 2003 when Dinah Showman was editor of Con Brio. She considers herself just that – a volunteer and never charges for those great pictures she takes of us. She enjoys meeting us and going to the musical events we hold. “The work the Friends do is so worthwhile. And this is my chance to pay back.”

Note: Lois has an exhibition, “Musicians”, of her photography on view at the Ottawa Bagelshop and Deli (Wellington Village) until December. In addition to her volunteer work, she is a freelance photographer for many publications in Ottawa including the Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Business Journal, Capital Style Magazine, Diplomat Magazine and many community papers.

Lois Siegel with friend, “Ugly Stick”.

Lois and the Lyon Street Celtic Band.

romantic sensibilityby Melina Vacca-Pugsley, Chair of Embassy Concerts

“Food is music to the body but music is food for the heart and soul”

This was more than apparent on May 26, 2011 when the annual embassy chamber music concert of the Friends of NAC Orchestra took place.

In the welcoming surroundings of the residence of the German Ambassador, Dr. Georg Witschel, and his wife, Sabine Witschel, the 60 guests of Friends and the ambassador’s personal guests enjoyed a brilliant program of romantic sensibility, starting with the yearnful cries of “Adelaide”, a poem by Friedrich von Matthisson (1761-1831) which Beethoven set to music in 1795-1796. He was 25 years old.

Jean Desmarais then enchanted the audience with Chopin’s 1st Ballade in G minor, opus 23 and Denis Lawlor’s sinfully rich voice kept us spellbound during Schumann’s Dichterliebe (Poet’s Love) opus 48.

Much to the delight of the audience, Desmarais and Lawlor interspersed their program with amusing anecdotes of their earlier musical exploits. Sadly, the program had to come to a close, but rather than leave their rapt audience with somber echoes of “my love and my pain deep within” (a coffin),* the talented duo offered up a delicious amuse-bouche, Warnung, by W.A. Mozart, in which we are warned of the perils of nibbling: “But a snack before the meal can ruin one’s appetite and exhorting fathers to “lock up your sugar candies! Lock up your young girls.” No locking up was necessary that night. Amidst much laughter, guests were invited to enjoy a delicious buffet which nourished the body, their hearts and souls, full of the beautiful sounds from Desmarais’ magic hands and the rich voice of Lawlor, a rising young star.

As the guests bade a warm thank you to their hosts, they were heard to say: “It was a wonderful concert. It was a great party” and “I can’t wait to see what next year’s concert will be.”

We too shall have to wait and see! Stay tuned!

*Dichterliebe (The old angry songs)

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MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Open Rehearsals 2011-12

(Friends of NACO only)November 9, 2011, 9:15 a.m.John Estacio, NAC commission/world premierMozart, Piano Concerto #20Brahms, Symphony #1Julian Kuerti, conductorJan Lisiecki, pianoPreconcert talk by Christy Harris, Manager, NAC Summer Music Institute

April 25, 2012, 9:00 a.m.Mozart, Piano Concerto #9; Concert arias; Symphony #36Pinchas Zuckerman, conductor/violinGarrick Olson, pianoPreconcert talk by Eric Friesen

May 29, 2012, 7:15 p.m. (Time to be confirmed – no pre-chat)Verdi, RequiemPinchas Zuckerman, conductorAdrianne Pieczonka, sopranoCombined Ottawa ChorusesDuain Wolfe, chorus master

Seating at rehearsals is limited.

Reservations: Gisele Microys, 613-728-9670 or drgigi@sympatico.ca

Holiday FanFair Concert and fundraiser

December 11, 2011

Embassy Chamber Music Concerts – German Embassy residence in Rockcliffe. Photos by Lois Siegel